Cinematograph projection and sound-reproducing apparatus



J. A. DESCOMBES KINEMATOGR v Jan. 18, 1949.

APH PROJECTION AND soUND REPRODUCING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. l5, 1947 lllllll l au Arr) `Ian. 18, 1949."

A. DE'scoMB-Es 2,459,628

J. KINEMATOGRAPH PROJEC T ION AND S OUND REPRODUC ING APPARATUS Filed Jan. l5, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 18, 1949 CINEMATOGRAPH PROJECTION AND SOUND-REPRODUCING APPARATUS Julien Antoine Descombes,

Paris, France, as-

signor to Societe dEtudes et de Realisation des Brevets Descombes, Paris,

France Application January 15, 1947, Serial No. 722,256 In France May 22, 1946 3 Claims.

The correct positioning or threading of a lm in a kinematograph projection and sound reproducing apparatus requires, owing to the complicated path followed by the film, a certain amount of practice for its insertion and great accuracy in the formation of the loops. It is, in fact, necessary not to make any mistake in the order in which the film is successively threaded through the various members (gate, sound detector presser, feeding devices, etc.) and to give to the loops the exact sizes necessary for an accurate regis tering between the projection of the frames and the sound reproduction. In order to obtain this latter result, it is absolutely necessary that the distance, taken along the nlm between the track on said iilm of the geometrical axis of the luminous projection on the one hand and of the optical axis of the sound detector on the other hand, should be absolutely equal to the longitudinal distance which exists on the lm between a frame and the sound record which corresponds to it.

Now, in the known apparatus, there exists no practical means enabling the lm to be placed in position lwithout any risk of mistake and for automatically giving to the loops of the lm the exact l dimensions which are such that the above condition is fulfilled.

The present invention has for its object to pro-- vide a kinematograph projection and sound reproducing apparatus Which is improved so that it enables automatic insertion and threading of the lm to be obtained, which prevents any mistake in the positioning of the lm and ensures with absolute certainty the registering of the light and sound reproductions, any two conjugated points of the frames and of the sound track being brought, automatically and without hesitation, into register with the optical axes of the light projection device and of the sound detecting device.

The apparatus according to the invention further consists of a device of the kind indicated in which retractable means are provided for the temporary guiding of the film, combined with the presser and a common operating member, in such a manner that, on the one hand these guiding means enable, when in their operative position, the lm to be placed automatically in a suitable position relatively to the various members and to the optical projection and sound detection axes, the presser then being remote from the gate, and on the other hand said guiding means are quickly retracted after the presser has been returned to the gate in order to hold the film stationary in the position which has been given to it.

Theinventon is illustrated in the accompanying drawings which are given solely by way of example and in which:

Fig, 1 is a partial front view of a projection and sound reproducing apparatus, improved according to the invention, this ligure showing in particular, the guiding means for the film in their operative positions corresponding to the placing in position of the film;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic transverse section along the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 1, after the passage for the hlm has been closed by clamping down the presser;

Fig. 4 is a similar View, after complete retraction o2? the temporary guiding devices.

According to the embodiment illustrated, the invention is assumed to be applied to a kinematograph projection and sound reproducing apparatus in which the whole device is carried by one of the faces of a supporting plate I. The i'ilm 2 follows a path abc mno. It unwinds from a feed spool 3 arranged against the plate l and loosely mounted on a shaft 4 at right angles to said plate l. The nlm 2 then passes at bc over a feed device 5 mounted on a spindle 6, against which said film is pressed by a presser roller 'l carried by a lever 8 and retracted by a spring 9. The film then forms a large loop cdc and passes through the gate Hl of the projection device whose optical axis is XX, then over the sound detector l l It then returns at ma over an extension of the feed device 5 and finally Winds, at o, on to a receiving spool l2 arranged against the feed spool 3 on the same shaft 4 to which said receiving spool l2 is rotarily secured. Said shaft 4 is driven and therefore drives said receiving spool l2 in the direction of winding of the nlm (arrow f1). The longitudinal axis of the film passes from the medial plane of the feed spool 3 to the medial plane of the receiving spool l2 during its loop ede.

According to the present invention, the device is ccmpleted, opposite the loop cdcf, rst by a movable arcuate guide i3, then by a xed guide i4 provided with side cheeks l fila.

The movable guide I 3 comprises, for example, a suitably curved metal plate. It is carried by a bracket l5 which is pivoted on a spindle i6 carried by the plate l. Said bracket l5 is extended beyond the spindle i6 and carries a roller l'l intended to bear against the film 2 opposite the feed device 5 on the return side ma of the lm, when the guide i3 is in the retracted position of Fig. 4, towards which position said guide constantly tends to be returned by a spring I8 which is fixed at I9 to the guide and at 20 to the plate I. Fixed to the lower face of the guide I3 by means of a clamp, by welding or otherwise, is a projection or pin 2I which passes through a circular opening 2la in the plate I, the centre of said opening being located on the geometrical axis Y of the journal I 6. The projection 2| extends beyond the plate I so as to bear, by the action of the spring I8, against a nger 22 forming a cam. Said finger 22 is carried by an operating lever which is pivoted along an axis Z-yZ vabout a journal 24 carried by the plate I. The finger 22 has a portion pq which is concentric with the axis Z-Z of the lever 23 and another drooping portion qr, which is circular for example, its centre being located at V between the axes YY and ZZ.

The lever 23 has an upper end 25 bent at 90"` which passes through an arcuate opening 2,5, the centre of which is located on the axis ZZ and which is terminated, ,on the front face of said plate, by a handle 21 or other operating member. i The lever 23 is, in addition, provided with a second ringer 28 which is concentric with the axis of rotation ZZ. Said finger 28 is so arranged and is of such a length that, when the lever 23 moves from the intermediate position of Fig. 3 to the extreme position towards the right of Fig. I, said yfinger 28 pushes back a flap 29 keyed on a shaft 3U journalled in the plate I. A spring 3l tends to retract said flap in the direction of the arrow f2. On the shaft 30 is keyed, on the front face of the plate I, a presser nap 32 which is intended to be pressed by the spring 3l against the projection gate I8 of the projection device. Said presser, which follows the ap 29 in its oscillations, is therefore moved away from the'gate I0 when the finger 28 pushes back the flap 29, the lever 23 moving from the position of Fig. 3 to the position of Fig. l.

The lever 23 is extended beyond its pivot pin 24 by a heel 33 which is adapted to encounter a projection 34. Said projection is carried by a lever 35 keyed on a shaft 3B journalled in the plate I. On the other face of said plate, on the shaft 36 is keyed a support 31. On said support 31 are rotatably mounted on the shaft 38, a loading roller 39 with cheeks and, on another shaft 40, a presser lroller 4I also provided with side cheeks for guiding the film. The support 31 furthermore carries an intermediate tension roller 42. A spring 43 tends to rock the lever 35 and the support 31 about the shaft 36 in the direction of the arrow f3 in which the roller 4I is pressed against the detector device I I.

The device is furthermore provided with a i switch, the contacts 44 and 45 of which are so arranged as to be connected to one another by the lever 23 at the end of its inoperative travel (position of Fig. 4). Said switch is connected to the supply circuit of the electric motor driving the apparatus.

Finally `the usual shutter of the projection device, the movements of which are connected to the feed claws for the nlm, is provided or is combined with a marking means enabling said shutter to be brought by hand into a position such that the feed claws for the film are retracted rel atively to the gate I for the film. The shutter may, for example, be provided with an opening which, for the desired orientation of said shutter, leaves apparent a fixed mark provided on a stationary part located behind the shutter, or again a pointer which moves into register with a xed mark.

,The apparatus Operates as follows: ,Before placing the film 2 in position, the lever 23 is moved into the threading position of Fig. 1, thereby opening the switch 44, 45, and stopping the driving motor of the apparatus. In this position of the lever 23, the projection 2| of the guide I3 rests at p on the part pq of the cam-finger 22 and the guide I3 is rocked upwards about the shaft I9 against the action of the retracting spring I8 which is tensioned. The presser roller I1, secured to said guide I3, is remote from the feed device 5. On the other hand, the nger 28 bearing against the iiap 29 against the action of the retracting spring 3l, retracts the presser 32 into the raised position of Fig. l, As regards the heel 33 of the lever 23, it constrains, by means of the projection 34 and the lever 35, the part 31 to rock about the shaft 3B in the opposite direction to the arrow f3 and move into the position of Fig. 1 against the action of the retracting spring 43, the roller 4I being then remote from the ,sound detector II.

Furthermore, the operator moves by hand the pointer or the opening of the shutter into'register with its mark, so as to be sure that theusual feed claws for the film are retracted `relatively `to the gate I0 for the film.

When this has been done, the lm 2 is unwound from the feed spool 3. The presser 1 is moved away by hand. The `film 2 is engaged at Vbc between said presser and the feed-device 5. The part of the film which protrudes Vfrom the feed device is passed round the guide I3 and the nxed guide I4, then the film is passed through the gate I8, under the roller 39, over the tension roller 42, between the presser 4I and the sound detector I I, is passed back at mn over the feed device 5 and its free end is finally attached to the receiving spool I2. The film having thus been placed lin position, the presser 1 isreleased and its spring 9 presses it against the feed device 5 which holds the film stationary before it reaches the device described. It should be noted that this placing in position of the film may be made easier for the operator by indicating the path of the film by means of a diagram marked in red on the plate I.

When the film has thus been placedin position in a practically automatic manner, since ,it is guided over its entire length, the lever 23 is swung from the position of Fig. 1, about its pivot 38, in the direction of the arrow f4 (Fig. l). While it is moving from the position of Fig. 1 tothe position of Fig. 3, the guide I3 does vnotmove since the projection 2| moves over the part .pq of the cam-finger 22 concentric with the axis ZZ of the lever 23. On the other hand, the finger 28 is retracted from the flap 29 and the presser 32 is returned, by the action of the spring 3 I into contact with the gate III where it clamps the film 2, before the projection 2I `reaches the end q of the portion pq of the cam 22. yAt the same time, the heel 33 of the lever 2,3 is retracted from the projection of the klever 35 and, vby the action :of the retractingvspring 4,3, the part 31 rocks about the shaft 35 in the ydirection of the arrow f3, bringing the roller 4I into contact with the detector H, wherein the lm 2 theneripped and held stationary. AS can be Seen, from'this instantithe perdon o f the `nlm between the optical. axis Aof projection .and the. Sound detector is held stationary and Cannot move at either 0f its ends, the intermediate portion ,foriniiig a loop g'fhz (Fig. 3) which is no longer in Contact with ldie roller 39 since said roller has been retracted 11pwards towards the right. I t should be noted that this loop is. `Sliglfitly retracted relatively 'to the correspgndiiig loopghi 0f. the :film 1in Eig .1.2 since owing to the rocking of the part 3l, the roller 4| by moving downwards has slightly pulled the film.

To sum up, when the lever 23 reaches the position of Fig. 3, the film 2 is locked in the gate I0 and between the roller 4I and the detector Il. By continuing to rotate the lever 23 in the direction of the arrow f4, the part q1' of the finger 22 comes opposite the projection 2| of the guide I3 and, as the lever 23 is rotated, the guide I3 rocks in the direction of the arrow f5 (Fig. 3) by the action of the retracting spring I8 and finally comes into the retracted position of Fig. 4 while th`e presser roller I1 bears against the return side of the lm opposite the feed device 5. The loop cde of the film is then unsupported, but there is no longer any objection to this, on the contrary, since the film 2 is then released from all friction in this region.

As regards the heel 33 of the lever 23, it has long ago been separated from the projection 34 of the lever 35; the parting of these members occurred slightly before the lever 23 reached the intermediate position of Fig. 3, when the roller 4| pressed the film against the sound detector device Il.

Finally, at the end of its travel towards the inoperative position of Fig. 4, the lever 23 closes the switch 44-45 and the electric motor driving the apparatus can be started by closing another manually controlled switch connected in series.

As can be seen, the guiding device described enables the film 2 to be placed in position in a very convenient and absolutely accurate manner, owing to the fact that the path between the points c and Ic is accurately determined by the position of the various guide members when the same are in the position of Fig. 1 and said members are only retracted after the film has been locked in the gate I0.

Naturally the invention is in no Way limited to the embodiment illustrated and described, which has only been chosen by way of example.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. In a kinematograph projection and sound reproduction apparatus, the combination of a supporting plate, a projection gate located in a plane perpendicular to said plate, a retractable presser in front of said gate, an arcuate guide located before said projection gate and enabling in its operative position and by its external convex surface a large loop to be formed in the lm, said loop being floating when said arcuate guide is retracted in the running position of said apparatus, a second loop forming device between the projection gate and the sound detector of said apparatus, said second device comprising a support pivotally secured to said supporting plate, two rollers and an intermediate tension roller mounted on said support, one of said two rollers forming in the film a loop which remains floating in the retracted position of said roller, the other roller forming a presser against said sound detector, and a rocking lever pivotally mounted on said plate and provided with fingers forming movable abutments for actuating said arcuate guide, said second loop forming device and said presser in such a sequence that said presser is removed from said gate after the arcuate guide and the second loop forming device have been placed in their operative positions and returned to said gate to hold said film stationary in its position before said arcuate guide and said second loop forming device are retracted.

2. In a kinematograpn projection and sound reproducing apparatus, a supporting plate, a projection gate, located in a plane perpendicular to said plate, a retractable presser in front of said gate, a bracket pivoted on said plate, an arcuate guide carried by said bracket before said projection gate and having an external convex face enable to form in the film a first loop which remains floating when said arcuate guide is retracted in the running position of said apparatus, a pin carried by said guide and passing through a circular opening of said supporting plate, a spring fixed to said guide and to said plate for retracting said guide, and a second loop forming device located between said projection gate and said sound detector and comprising a shaft journaled in said supporting plate, a support and a lever keyed on said shaft, and, mounted on said support, a first roller adapted to form in the film a second loop which remains floating after said roller has been retracted, a second roller which forms a. presser against said sound detector and an intermediate tension roller, in combination with an operating lever pivotally mounted on said plate and comprising: a first finger adapted to act upon said pin carried by said arcuate guide and having a portion which is concentric with the axis of said lever and another drooping portion which is circular, the center thereof being located between the axes of said arcuate guide and of said operating lever, a heel extending beyond the pivot of said operating lever and adapted to encounter said lever keyed on said shaft journalled in said supporting plate, and a second finger, concentric with the axis of rotation of said arcuate guide adapted to act upon said presser, and having such a length that said presser is moved away from said gate only when the two loops forming devices have been placed in their operative positions and is returned to said gate before said guiding means are retracted.

3. A kinematograph projection and sound reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a first feed sprocket between the feed spool and said arcuate guide, a second feed sprocket between said sound detector and the receiving spool, and a presser roller carried by said arcuate guide and adapted to bear in the retractable position of said guide against said second feed sprocket.

JULIEN ANTOINE DESCOMBES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,973,477 Fritts Sept. 11, 1934 1,987,406 May Jan. 8, 1935 2,023,065 Conrad et al Dec. 3, 1935 2,114,608 Ross Apr, 19, 1938 2,127,143 Ross Aug. 16, 1938 2,172,235 Aldinger Sept. 5, 1939 

